DIRECTOR of Georgetown Reading and Research Centre (GRRC), Mr. Rupert Hopkinson, has reported that response to its Guyana Book Festival 2010 is heartening.
Sponsored by the Waterloo Street, Georgetown bookseller, it started June 25 and has since attracted many local and foreign persons.
Just recently, there were a few visitors, from Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, who said they saw the advertisement and decided to visit the GRRC, Hopkinson disclosed.
He said patronage has been growing, especially in the afternoons and on weekends and the influx includes families.
Hopkinson announced that GRRC has just received a shipment of 60,000 books which arrived for the festival and, in keeping with the motto of the fair, ‘No One Leaves Empty Handed’, a table is at the entrance to allow persons to take any book they want, free of charge.
Apart from hosting the festival, GRRC has an active membership club for which interested persons can be registered for a $2,000 fee that permits them to borrow books.
Hopkinson said GRRC also assists organisations by contributing books to various causes, in which instances the beneficiaries’ purchases are matched.
Emphasising the importance of giving, he said: “You are better off giving than receiving, as we all have an obligation to help others who have helped us along the way.”
Hopkinson expressed hope that the business community would join in helping to promote the concept of reading and aids to develop the foundation for education.
“It is not just about purchasing books, it is about making your country better,”
he said, pointing out that GRRC, at Lot 179 Waterloo Street, is open to the general public from 09:00 h to 18:00 h Sunday to Sunday.